Rodgers says omitted Leicester trio's COVID breach 'disappointing'

While not confirming the reasons why James Maddison, Hamza Choudhury and Ayoze Perez weren't involved, Brendan Rodgers hinted that the trio breached COVID protocols.

"They're all good guys, but we have a standard on and off the pitch that we have to adhere to," Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers said.

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers described the behaviour of Ayoze Perez, James Maddison and Hamza Choudhury as disappointing after all three were left out of the 3-2 defeat by West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday.

While not confirming the reasons why they were not involved, Rodgers responded to reports that the trio had breached COVID-19 protocols in the build-up to the game. "It was a decision I made, an internal situation last weekend. It is not the standard we expect at this football club," he said.

"They are all good guys, good lads, but we have a standard on and off the pitch that we have to adhere to. The boys will rejoin the group after this game. It's something we have dealt with. It's disappointing behaviour, it's a mistake. It's not what we are about."

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A club spokesman confirmed it was a COVID-19 breach. "The Club has made its expectations around adherence to coronavirus protocols abundantly clear to all its personnel. It is extremely disappointing, therefore, to learn of a breach," they were quoted as saying by the BBC.

"We wholly expect our people to behave in a way that reflects the national effort and the sacrifices made by our communities to control the spread of the virus."

It was a bad day for Leicester whose defeat left it in third place but only one point above fourth-placed West Ham United and two points above fifth-placed Chelsea. Leicester fell 3-0 behind shortly after halftime before two goals by Kelechi Iheanacho almost salvaged something.

The team has now lost two successive games and Rodgers knows it is in danger of allowing a top-four finish to elude it for the second season in succession.